Diagnosis (Proctoporus sensu strictu): Proctoporus differs from members of subfamily Alopoglossinae by having its tongue covered in imbricate, scale-like papillae instead of oblique plicae (Harris, 1994), from Gymnophthalminae by having moveable eyelids, from Rhachisaurinae by having external ear openings and from Ecpelopinae by lacking prefrontal scales. Within Cercosaurinae (sensu Castoe et al., 2004), Proctoporus differs from all genera except Pholidobolus, Riama, and Petracola by lacking prefrontal scales. It differs from Riama by having an entire palpebral eye disc, from Petracola by having keeled dorsal scales and from Pholidobolus by having juxtaposed dorsal scales (after DOAN & CASTOE 2005.

Köhler, G. and E. Lehr 2004. Comments on Euspondylus and Proctoporus (Squamata: Gymnophthalmidae) from Peru, with the description of three new species and a key to the Peruvian species. Herpetologica 60 (4):501-518 - get paper here